


Unbent, Unbowed, but Broken

by Wingless_Hummingbird



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU Shenanigans, Angst, Bad Puns, Bad Sanses | Nightmare's Gang (Undertale), Basically Everything Gets Broken, Broken Bones and Hearts, Bromance, Bromance to Romance, Dark Humor, Dystopia, Ecto-Genitalia (Undertale), Epic Battles, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, God Complex, Homesickness, Hurt/Comfort, Isekai, Manipulation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Nightmare/Killer/Dust/Horror - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personal Growth, Polyamory, Poor Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Star Sanses (Undertale), Suffering, Trust Issues, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:01:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingless_Hummingbird/pseuds/Wingless_Hummingbird
Summary: The day that will change their lives forever starts pretty normal. It only needs one mistake and their future lies shattered in ruins.Nightmare disappears without a trace, leaving his group alone and without a clue of his whereabouts. How will they manage their day to day life without him? Will they stay loyal or start a new life?But Nightmare’s journey isn’t positive either, being trapped in an unknown and hostile AU. He has to find a way out, before…Let’s call this an “AU-Shenanigans / Isekai-Style” amalgamation. ~
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 41





	1. The First Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve possibly read all ‘AU-shenanigan’ style fanfics out there and I’m sadistic (and masochistic) enough to let Night and the others partake in this ‘unforgettable’ experience.  
> Yep, this will evolve into a disturbing rollercoaster for everyone involved. But who doesn't love rollercoasters, right?! :D 
> 
> Warning: There’ll surely be fluff and light-hearted moments, but also some disturbing implications and themes. I’ll try my best to keep the tags updated and write trigger warnings for relevant chapters. This chapter is safe, just a bit violent. Let’s just ease into insanity. ^^

~~\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

"Didn’t anybody tell you that running is prohibited inside this building?", Horror remarks with glee. His bloody axe cuts through the still fleeing human with brute force, “Tch, figures, they never listen.” Bloodstained clothes, damp from all the fresh blood, stick to his bones, which isn’t a pleasant feeling. it’s probably time to wash them after this mission is over.

He leaves the abandoned shopping mall and roams through the empty street with a relaxed grin. The little EXP humans give is barely enough to keep him excited. In this AU, monsters made it to the surface and started living happily together with humans. Oh, his boss will draw so much negativity from their visit. He snickers to himself and twists his axe around to release some of the excitement.

Most of the inhabitants are hiding somewhere by now and as he coincidentally locks gazes with a frightened bunny-monster, his smile drops. Nope, no monster hunting today, he gained enough EXP this month. At least according to Nightmare. What a killjoy.

Speaking of _kill_ and _joy_ , where’s Dust? The beautiful sounds of panic and misery are gone, too. Did he leave already?... And missing an opportunity for ‘accidentally’ gaining more EXP? No way. "Dust? That's not funny, you know how boss can get if he can’t find you right away. Heh, or did you turn into your namesake?”

It takes a while until the big boned skeleton finally spots his partner lying flat on the ground. Ominous thoughts flash in Horror’s mind but he shoves them aside. He hurries to Dust, cursing himself for being unable to use shortcuts properly, and squats down to get a closer look. “Taking a nap so soon?”, expressing concern is off the table, so Horror tries to lighten the mood as their gazes meet.

“Get away from me, it’s a trap!”, is all he gets as an answer before a well-crafted bone construct is trapping both of them. Standing up with the grace of a lumberjack, Horror growls like a caged animal.

The culprits appear at the sidewalk of this broad and empty street. Ink, Dream and Blue. Horror narrows his eye sockets, anger blazing hot in his soul. Why do they keep bothering them?!

“Can you fight?”, Horror asks without letting the enemies out of sight. An eerie chuckle filled with sadistic anticipation is answer enough. Dust’s HP might be cut in half, but they surely can keep them busy for a while. Backup will be here soon enough. 

“WOWZA! WE CAPTURED TWO OF THEM!”, Blue exclaims cheerfully and his eyelights fade a little after the trap manifested. This little monster has some amazing control over his bone attacks. But does he really think they’re trapped? Horror and Dust snicker in amusement.

“Don’t forget our plan, Blue.”, Ink says while removing his oversized paint brush from his back.

This fancy bone-cage can’t withstand Horror’s axe for too long, thick bones shatter and dissolve into thin air as he cuts through them brutally. A bright arrow greets him when he gets out, but he blocks the attack with the axe’s cheek. When he lowers his weapon again, Ink stands right in front of him, swinging the big brush against his rib cage.

He crashes against the still standing bone-construct’s remnants, which are surprisingly stable enough to absorb the impact. His vision blurs and hot pain stings in his lower ribs as he inhales sharply.

When his sight clears, Ink is about to strike again. But Horror expects, even anticipates that, and in the next moment catches the incoming weapon with his left hand. 

Strong phalanges wrap tightly around the wooden brush, threatening to break it. “Not fair, Horror!”, his opponent scolds him with this typical play-act personality. Oh, how tempting it would be to bite this plastic smile off the artistic skeleton’s face…The wood cracks under Horror’s hold before another arrow shoots warningly past his skull, forcing him to let go and seek cover. 

The noise of a blaster fills the atmosphere, followed by a scared yelp. Horror’s grin returns to his face, purple magic is undeniably Dust’s doing. Good, one issue less to care about.

But then, a soft ‘ting’ draws his attention back at his own fight and the strong grip of blue magic is enveloping his soul.

“Let go, stupid Squid!”, his thunderous voice lets Ink hesitate for a moment. Enough time for Horror to throw his axe at the artistic skeleton, who barely dodges. The strong skeleton lets out a growl of frustration, trying to get free. Even though he should have learned by now that struggling against blue magic is pretty useless, even with his strength.

“Guys, I got him! How’s your part of the operation going?”, Ink turns around to look at the others, only to face utter mayhem.

Countless bones are shooting back and forth, destroying the asphalt and buildings. “Still trying to get a hold of him.”, Dream states troubled while protecting himself from the beam of another blaster. Dust’s magic reserves are insane, just like the skeleton himself. He’s the kind of monster that thrives in chaos and loves going ballistic whenever they get attacked.

“STOP RESISTING, WE DON’T WANT TO HARM YOU… uh… MORE THAN NECESSARY!”, Blue tries to argue with Dust, who just laughs maniacally. Nightmare indeed found some crazy monsters. “Save your breath, it’s no use arguing right now.”, Dream comments unhappily.

The hooded skeleton does an excellent job at keeping Blue in safe distance while avoiding the guardian’s arrows. His HP is too low for his own liking, but it’s no use complaining. Just a few scrapes, he’ll be fine.

A set of bones shoots up from beneath him, right as he dodges another missile, almost causing him to lose his balance. Dust glances at Horror, who’s still trapped. Shit, what takes his boss and Killer so long?

Five blasters appear, all directed at Blue and firing immediately. His opponent, who’s apparently no friend of shortcuts, dodges by leaping on several bone-attacks, while summoning another salve of bones for attacking purposes.

It’s a shame, the cheerful skeleton seems to enjoy the fight as well, at least judging by his star-shaped eyelights and wide smile. He’d be a much greater threat if he didn’t insist on fighting fair. A look of bitterness sweeps across Dust’s face. Surely, kindness is nothing but an obvious weakness.

Sharp pain bursts in his right shoulder-blade, making him gasp as _stars_ appear in his field of vision. Heh, that one was so bad, Horror would love that. Damn, Dust briefly forgot about Dream.

With the sharp arrow stuck in his shoulder, he collapses onto his knees. HP is dropping dangerously low, good thing Dream has no Karmic Retribution abilities.

“Shit…”, Horror curses while watching Dust’s health slowly dwindling down. Ink on the other hand reacts the complete opposite way, “Great!”, he shouts as if they just won the lottery. Blue poses confidently, his right hand raised to show the peace sign. “Okay, we need to take them somewhere safe. Maybe they can fully recover without my brother’s influence.”, Dream says hopefully.

“Do you really believe the nonsense you are stating?”, a silvery voice echoes through the street.

The atmosphere gets tainted by a menacing aura; pressure increases like somebody just boosted gravitation. A subtle hint of threat seeps in their bones, telling everyone to run and hide. But Horror and Dust know by heart that they aren’t the ones in danger. This force of nature won’t discharge on them.

“What do we have here? A depraved artist, a failed royal guard and a terrible excuse of a guardian.”, Nightmare’s calm voice contains a dangerous edge. The black skeleton emerges from an alley, followed by Killer who’s busy putting his jacket on; a fresh droplet of liquid hate running down his cheekbone.

Odd. Why would he have taken his jacket off? Except… Horror’s grin widens knowingly. If his guess is correct, those Star Sanses are gonna have a _murderous_ time.

The venomous way Killer glares at all of them draws a snicker from Nightmare as well. “Dream is mine.”, is all he can say before Killer disappears.

The sharp cut in Ink’s right shoulder blade comes out of nowhere. And much to the artistic skeleton’s displeasure, his scarf is in tatters. He turns around and stares playfully offended at Killer, eyelights changing from yellow rectangles to red exclamation-marks.

The other smiles deeply satisfied, a maniac grin that leaves no room for mercy. “Woah, calm down.”, Ink says after barely dodging Killer’s next hit.

And finally, the blue magic wears off. Horror lands on his feet and draws the butcher knife attached to his waistband. Seeing that Killer takes care of Ink, he dashes towards Blue in order to protect the barely conscious Dust. They’ve got to finish this quickly.

Ink’s paint almost hits Killer, but he ducks away from the incoming splashes _sansationally_. The creative skeleton teleports behind his opponent to pierce the inky bristles through his spine, but Killer pivots and blocks the attack with a knife while another blade slides out from his sleeve. He tries to stab the artistic skeleton, who escapes by teleporting out of reach.

Without missing a beat, Killer teleports out of sight and summons a huge blaster right where he stood. But the beam gets absorbed by a wall of paint. A quick CHECK shows that, despite his first critical hit, Ink’s HP didn’t really go down. So, his HP must be close to infinity as well. No surprise for a ‘god’.

Nightmare and Dream engage only half-heartedly in their fight. Both are more invested in Killer’s surge of animosity, which is much more prominent than usual. However, their conclusions couldn’t be more different. “What have you done to this poor monster that caused him to emit so much hate, brother?!”, Dream asks his counterpart as they exchange blows from a safe distance.

Nightmare clenches his fists, only to relax it a second later. His former ‘brother’ has always been ignorant to the bone, but this is only working in his favor. “Is it so hard for you to understand?”, he pauses to teleport behind the positive skeleton and continues, “I tainted him in every possible way. He is beyond salvation.” And that’s not even a lie.

His brother’s ominous voice lets Dream shiver. “He trusted you, brother! They all trust you, but you treat them like puppets!”, he leaps away and shoots an extra-large arrow as if to underline his statement. But no force in the entire Multiverse could make this statement true.

He dodges the arrow with practiced ease; tentacles lash out to crush this pitiful firefly. Dream has no chance to win this fight, their terrorized environment gives Nightmare a glaring advantage. As expected, Dust and Horror did a great job.

In the meantime, the latter is preventing Blue from taking Dust. Both fighting skeletons are panting heavily, and Horror is for once happy that he can’t use magic properly. Depleted magic is much more hindering than physical exhaustion.

“If you really were his friend, you wouldn’t stop us from saving him.”, the small skeleton’s voice is so much more tolerable when he’s quieter. Horror merely shakes his head, monsters like Blue can’t understand. They found solace in the dark, made their home in it. And they sure as hell don’t need to be fixed.

Two blasters appear, one at Horror’s side and one over Dust, causing Horror to stop moving immediately. “…So, that’s how ya wanna play.”, the blood-stained monster mumbles displeased. Blue’s determination wavers a second before he regains his composure. “I’M TRULY SORRY. JUST DON’T MOVE AND NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.”

Blue’s other hand raises, and a bone construct appears slowly above the little skeleton, forming a huge bone-ball with little spikes all over the orb’s surface. What is he up to?

A few seconds later, the impressive bone-attack shoots at Nightmare, who stops the attack with all of his tentacles in the last second. This gives Dream the time he needs to shoot another arrow at the god of negativity.

Knowing how much an arrow filled with positivity harms the god of negativity, Killer shortcuts between the projectile and his boss, taking the hit for him.

“Killer, no!”, Nightmare curses. He told him not to play the hero, especially not in front of Dream. This insufferable empath might be able to figure out how they truly feel. Having a lot of enemies comes with the ‘god of negativity’-package and showing a weakness would bring them all in much graver danger then their little play-pretend.

Killer is still able to stand, but with shaking bones and only 6 HP left. “Heh, ‘m fine. ’s just pure instinct to protect you, boss. Couldn’t help myself.”, he states with a confident grin despite his slightly slurred words. Nightmare’s soul aches from gratification. Even when he himself falters to maintain their act; the thoughtful skeleton offers a simple explanation for his behavior.

His menacing gaze shifts to Dream, who looks sorry for Killer. “You damn scapegrace will repay the damage tenfold.”, one tentacle stabilizes Killer while the others are attacking Dream and Blue aggressively. Talk about multitasking.

The unforeseen attack lets Blue’s stalling blasters vanish without him noticing the slipup.

Ink appears to help blocking the fierce attacks. “Let’s retreat. We’ll get them out of your brothers reach sooner or later.”, he says with oblivious confidence. This is all just a game for the artistic skeleton. He wouldn’t even feel without those stupid vials.

“Heh, good luck with that!”, Horror growls, simultaneously throwing his butcher knife at Blue. The rotating blade catches the cheerful skeleton off-guard. He solely raises his arms to protect himself and the impact almost shatters his left forearm. Deep cracks spread across the bone and he screams in pain.

Both, Horror and Nightmare, look pleased with the saccharine noise of agony. But satisfaction only lasts an instance, Killer collapses against the tentacle, which carefully wraps around him and places him next to Horror. The god doesn’t plan on letting them go so easily.

Without wasting time, Dream opens a portal and the Star Sanses retreat without another word.

“Why do you keep running, coward?!”, Nightmare yells in frustration. No, not this time, not after partaking in such an ambush. Not after harming _them_. He grabs his brother’s cape through the already closing portal before attempting to stab him with a pointed tentacle. The hit connects, he feels bones shattering.

An unnatural draft emits from the rift, but he refuses to let go. He hears Dream coughing at the other end and senses the other’s pain even through the portal. “Let go, brother! That’s dangerous!”, but the warning falls on deaf ears.

Nightmare knows this won’t be enough to kill his brother, but inflicting agony is better than nothing. His offending tentacle twists slowly, he missed the soul but broke at least two ribs. “I can’t keep it open any longer!”, says the pained voice from the other side.

Before Nightmare’s logic can kick back in, the portal collapses with his hand and tentacle still inside.

He feels a light squeeze on his limbs right before his vision gets white. All of his senses shut down at once, without any warning or pain. Consciousness gets stripped away from him.

Horror looks in awe at this event, never having witnessed a portal imploding before, much less with a monster still halfway in. The portal collapses into an intensely shining singularity, enveloping his boss in a white light. There’s absolutely no noise, no destruction. And in the blink of an eye, he’s gone without a trace.

What just happened?

Unsure what to make of it, his attention falls back to Dust and Killer. Both skeletons are unconscious, laying defenseless at his side. First things first, he needs to get his comrades to a safer place and attend to their wounds. The god of negativity can take care of himself.

He swallows the sting of worry and heaves the motionless skeletons on his shoulders. “Stars, did both of you gain weight? You two are _killing_ me right now.”, he snickers.

~~\--------------------------------------------~~

This space is too quiet, like time stopped existing or never existed in the first place. Just bleached whiteness all around Nightmare. He could lose himself here, but the steady pulse of his soul jolts him awake with every beat. A strange feeling emerges from within him. He doesn’t belong here.

Night’s eyelid flutters. Wind blows big snowflakes against his face. It takes a while for his eyelight to focus but when he finally regains his vision, the only thing he sees are dead trees surround him. Bare branches are swaying back and forth as the wind whistles through them. He gets on his feet and checks each bone for pain or injuries. Luckily, he seems to be fine.

Disoriented, his gaze wanders around. This universe is completely foreign to him. Snow and sky are grey; negativity from all directions wraps around him like a warm blanket. Whatever strange AU this might be, he never felt so much negative emotions coming from one universe alone. It’s like coffee for his soul.

How come he doesn’t know about this delightful place?

And just like that, memories are flooding his brain as he remembers how he got here. Killer, Dust and probably Horror are badly injured, he needs to go back and check on them. Stars, he left them alone in this AU without any portal to get back to the castle.

Not that he’s personally concerned about their wellbeing. He needs them to spread negativity, that’s all! Right, he keeps telling himself that.

With an unpleasant feeling squirming in his soul, he reaches for his plentiful magic to open a portal…

…But nothing happens.

He shakes his head and concentrates, perhaps his mind is still cloudy due to unwanted travels through the multiverse. The grasp on his magic feels clear and strong like always, but no portal forms.

Icy panic crawls up his spine and slides down his sternum. By all stars, where exactly is he?! He snarls frustrated and a tentacle lashes out to chop a nearby tree.

“Dying isn't so unusual. What is there to gain, staying in one world for a long time, anyway?”, a thin voice from behind him states. His tentacles stop moving entirely. How did someone manage to sneak up on him and, even worse, observe him?! He turns around, facing an unnatural ball of mist clinging in the air, obscuring his vision. But there’s a dark creature’s standing in the middle of the fog.

“What a _misty_ way to introduce oneself… But I couldn't care less. What is this place?”, Nightmare sounds unimpressed, hoping the unintentional pun will be left unnoticed. The figure doesn’t move, appearing more like a hologram than a real being.

“Very, very interesting. I can hear life pulsing through you. The real question to be asked is why are you here?”, the shadow answers. Nightmare’s tentacles twitch in annoyance. He doesn’t mind vague answers, but only when accompanied by emotions he can take into consideration. No matter how hard he digs through his memory, no monster description fits this thing in front of him.

“If you refuse to answer me properly, then leave.”, he says as he steps into the fog. When he breathes in, dry and powdery particles invade his mouth. That’s not mist, that’s very fine dust! He steps back immediately and starts coughing.

“Very, very fascinating. Such a vivid objection for the essence of every monster. We’re nothing but dust and to dust we will return, even you.”, the figure states with an excited undertone. How dare he talk to a god like that?!

“Silence. You fail to notice my immense power? Let me give you an example.”, Nightmare says with a finality that leaves no room for discussion while a tentacle swings through the dust like a giant whip. But instead of hitting something solid, the appendance just glides through the cloud, which dissolves right after. Like a ring of smoke that vanishes with the slightest draft. 

His eyelight shrinks to the size of a pinprick but otherwise he keeps his composure. The shadow is gone and so is his opportunity to get answers.

~~\----------------------------------------------------------------------------~~


	2. The Second Error

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is ready! Let’s see how they handle this unexpected event... :D It’s not as devastating as one would expect, I guess. Not yet. ~ Despair is a beast that loves to sneak up slowly, but surely.
> 
> I don’t think I have to warn about something in this chapter… Oh, one thing: You probably don’t want to eat while reading this. ^^

“What do you mean he VANISHED?!”, Killer tries to sit up but gets stopped by Horror’s big hand. “Can’t tell you more than what I’ve seen.”, the bulky skeleton answers bluntly. He understands Killer’s discomposure but reopening barely healed wounds won’t help. They stare intensely at each other for a minute before Killer gives in and lies down again with a disapproving grumbling.

“ConSidEr yoUrsElf luCky, thAt I fOund yOu pEskY gliTchEs.”, Error’s corrupted voice fills the abandoned garage, Horror carried them into two days ago. His typical mocking tone is missing, which only contributes to their worries. If the god of destruction doesn’t know what happened to Nightmare, it’s probably serious.

Killer sighs defeated and his features soften a little. It’s no use starting an argument. His boss is strong, experienced, and intelligent. He’s fine. He has to be…

A warm hand pads the injured skeleton’s femur absently and he places his own hand over Horror’s, careful not to draw too much attention to the gesture. Not with Error close by. Even though Nightmare isn’t around, it’s still wise to follow his orders.

With a quick squeeze around the other’s leg, Horror pulls Killer back to reality. “Believe it or not, Error offered to take us back to the castle.”, his baritone voice makes him sound much more thoughtful than he actually is. 

Killer turns his skull in Error’s direction, who’s occupying his fingers by tugging on blue strings. “So, you’re able to get us back to boss’ castle? What do you want in return?”, Killer asks skeptically. His kindness surely comes with a price.

The strings vanish as the god’s attention shifts to them. When their gazes meet, the glitchy skeleton smirks confidently and steps closer, until he stands right beside the lying monster. Killer briefly worries about the touching hands, only to notice that Horror already removed his. Heh, that earns him bonus-points for stealth.

“SimpLe. SiNce NightmAre iS gOne, yoU hAve nOthing tO do. YoU’ll hElp mE with tHe dEstrUction of AUs. TakiNg oUt tHe trAsh, yoU’re gOod enoUgh fOr thAt.”, he states with a shit-eating grin. Killer and Horror exchange a quick look. Unfortunately, Dust is still unconscious, the last fight really wore him out.

Horror nods once, so Killer sits up slowly before answering, “Heh, agreed. Dust won’t have any objections either. But I’m not sure about Cross.” His HP is rising unbearably slow, he needs some food and a real bed. Same goes for Dust, whose HP is stable but not really increasing.

“GrEat. ThAt wAy, yOu bothErsome aNomAlies aRe aT leAst usEful fOr somEthing.”, he sounds as if they were the biggest burden in existence, and neither of them answers him back. It won’t take long for Nightmare to return and Error is not one of their enemies, meaning the situation could be worse.

Who knows, completely destroying AUs could be fun temporarily, given they get enough time in between each mission to let the EXP settle down.

It takes a while for Error to open a stable portal to Nightmare’s castle. His AU isn’t easy to hack into, but nothing the god of destruction can’t handle. 

~~  
~~

The sweet and painful whimper rings clearly through this raging snowstorm around them. Nightmare is standing in front of yet another crazed creature, this one has a glaring resemblance to Sans from Echotale. But this is clearly not an Echotale AU and this Sans is behaving very out of character.

“Tell me the truth about this damned place already and I will consider sparing your soul.”, Nightmare’s anger has long cooled down to an icy frustration. The look on his face differs greatly from his normal expression, stoic tiredness dominates his features.

Whatever happened to this monster, it corrupted him to such an extent that he seems to be barely affected by the black skeleton’s presence. “Ha, why should I tell you? This isn’t your territory, sweetheart. You’d better get used to it while you still can.”, Echo replies, utterly unresponsive when the grip around his soul tightens.

Nightmare suppresses a frustrated sigh, tentacles coil and uncoil tensely. The inhabitants may look familiar, but they behave differently. And that’s an understatement. Every creature went insane for some reason. But fortunately, this fight is already over, he’s shattering this Sans’ soul without hesitation.

EXP doesn’t get to him anymore. After hundreds of years of existence, he just stares at the pile of dust with indifference. Still, this can’t go on forever, he needs to find a way out of here.

“Nyeheh… He was right, this is no place for determined souls…”, another cursed creature is approaching him, an amalgamate of Papyrus and Sans. Nightmare rolls his eyelight, annoyed, and turns aside to face him. “You have been following me for a while now. Maybe you are reasonable enough to answer my question.”

The amalgamate stops moving and looks at Nightmare, a hungry expression is corrupting his two faces. “Come a little closer and I might tell ya… You must be exhausted… For so long you’ve been wandering around, without sleeping or eating. Just let me take… care of you.”, this Sixbones-version replies with two different voices.

Nightmare ignores the sickening feelings the other is emitting. “Either you give me the information I want, or you die.”, his tentacles twitch in anticipation. Negativity in this place gave him enough energy to fight and walk for about a week. But he starts to feel mentally drained, being on high alert constantly makes him skittish. Taking his current experience into consideration, he might have underestimated the brothers from Underfell.

At least the constant fights are keeping him distracted.

Before Sixbones can answer, a salve of fireballs hits the amalgamate, causing him to melt completely with a gurgling sound. Night senses a spike of panic and pain before all feelings suddenly end. The bubbling puddle in front of him smells like burnt dust.

Despite enjoying the negativity, he grows tired of being unable to unwind. Agile tentacles swish around his frame, anticipating that whatever killed the amalgamate will attack him next.

And just like on command, a pile of snow moves suspiciously before a large burning figure is emerging from a hidden trapdoor only a few steps away. Well, it makes sense for a version of Grillby to hide during a snowstorm. But why is he coming out now and interrupting the fight?

Taking shortcuts isn’t a valid option, it requires too much magic in his AU. Instead, the gooey skeleton prepares to shield any attack coming from the fire elemental. If the fire-monster is stupid enough to fight during a snowstorm, he’ll show no mercy.

But strangely, the monster just walks towards the melted goo, that was the amalgamate, and Night discovers the true reason why this monster attacked as soon as Grillby starts shoving the abhorrent liquid down his throat shamelessly. The slimy substance slides easily down his burning throat, he doesn’t even pay attention to Nightmare.

After the third handful of slime, the disgusted skeleton turns away to leave. Stars, he’ll never be unable to unsee this. His stomach protests heavily when the gulping sounds of this scene invade his auditory canal, convincing him to take a shortcut, no matter the cost.

Unlike normal shortcuts, this feels like walking through glue, sticky and exhausting. As if space wants to hold on to him.

When he turns around again, this obnoxious scene is barely noticeable in the distance. That’s far enough. Nightmare isn’t opposed to cannibalism, but slurping remnants of an amalgamate like it was melted vanilla ice-cream is nothing he wants to witness. 

He’ll never get answers at this rate... The longer he thinks about his situation, the easier helplessness flows through his mind. Unstoppable, like the powerful current of a river. It’s odd, because at the same time, he never felt more powerful before, surrounded by all this negativity. Depression, despair, violence, bleakness, aggression, all those emotions are fueling his magic and soul.

That’s all he ever wanted, everything he could wish for! But… Something is missing. Or someone?

His thoughts drift to his home. What are the others doing? Did they find a way out of the AU and were they able to recover? Are they safe? Are they… missing him? Maybe a little bit? No, nonsense. He should be more concerned about those Star Sanses ruining his influence on them.

As he continues his aimless journey, the storm grows in intensity. It's getting harder to keep track of his path. Furthermore, the black liquid surrounding his body gets almost blown away and replenishing it is energy consuming. Not that he hasn’t enough of it, but still.

He needs to find shelter and wait until the storm calms.

Dust is taking another bite out of the sandwich Horror made for recovering their HP. The group is sitting in the kitchen, which also serves as their dining room. Nightmare's preference for marmoreal furniture and dark color schemes is undeniable and despite the expensive material, they have no problems treating it nonchalantly. It's a common occurrence for them to eat together, Horror loves this place as much as he loves preparing food.

As expected, he’s fine with the new job until Nightmare comes back. How could he ever resist such a promising job description? “Heh, as annoying as he and Ink are, they’re useful from time to time.”, his comment comes out of nowhere. Horror makes a noise of agreement while chewing and Killer, who is again absorbed in his own thoughts, peaks up curiously. “Useful?”

Dust summons a small bone and launches the attack in Killer's direction, seemingly annoyed to explain that to him. “In situations like these for example. They could, theoretically, search for Nightmare. We-”, he stops, leaving the rest of his thought unspoken.

Killer catches the bone filled with actual harming intent and crushes it between his phalanges. He absolutely gets how Dust feels. They can’t do anything for their boss at the moment. Just following orders from another monster and waiting for Night’s return. “Heh, just stay determined.”, he snickers, but it lacks humor.

After they finished eating, Killer picks up the conversation again, “Don’t tell me you’re worried about Nightmare.”

Dust shrugs half-heartedly. “Of course not. But he’s our boss after all. It’s weird to listen to an immature, unstable monster just because he can open portals and has a somewhat bossy attitude.”, the reply comes with an honest repulsion that makes the other two skeletons smile.

“Heh, he's the one to talk about instability.”, Horror joins their conversation, drawing a snicker from Killer.

Dust takes a shortcut right behind the still sitting Horror. “What was that? I’m clearly not _unstable_ enough for you to hold onto me like your life depended on it during our fun time.”, his hint is accompanied by a meaningful smirk and he leans forward until Dust’s sternum touches the back of the other’s skull.

Horror doesn’t back off or turn his head, just snickers lowly. “Heh, right. But have you considered that I’m just holding you into place so I can fuck you easier, Dusty?”, his deep voice is sensual and smooth.

The hooded skeleton drapes his arms around Horror, letting his fingers slide along the sturdy ribs. “Really? Why don’t we continue where we stopped last time and find it out now?”

Horror leans into the touch and a deep satisfied sound escapes his throat, which almost sounds like purring. “How could I possibly say no, if you’re asking so nicely.”

Killer feels a delicate warmth down his crotch, and he almost feels his eyelights diluting. He leans back to get better access to his pelvic region. This’ll be a show. Or a great way to get their magic flowing before the upcoming mission… Oh right. Damn. How could he forget about Error?

It hurts his soul to interrupt them, denying them -and himself- their well-deserved fun. But it’s no use. He raises his hand and knocks a few times on the table to get their attention. When they look at Killer, he immediately knows that they know what’s coming. “Hate to tell you, but we have a mission in a few minutes.”

Dust sighs dramatically but takes a few steps back to ease the tension. “Yeah, I know.” Horror bends forward and rests his head on his hand, eye sockets half-closed. “So what? Error can wait. Or join us, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Horror!”, Killer exclaims without thinking.

It’s dead silent for a second before Horror and Dust start snorting with laughter. Seeing them joking around despite their unclear future calms Killer’s nerves. He’s probably worrying too much anyways.

“Look who’s getting sophisticated and reasonable. Is Nightmare _rubbing off_ of you, Kills?”, Horror asks after they compose themselves.

Unwanted heat warms his cheekbones. “Nah, not at all! It just… didn’t sound right. Sounded like replacing him.”

The heavy implication of his words silences them immediately. Like programmed, they look at the Night’s empty chair simultaneously.

“… The day we fought the fireflies, did you… finally get through to him?”, Horror asks in a more serious voice. He had this suspicion but really wants to know now.

Killer glances at him briefly. “Yeah… Think so. But before anything could happen, we had to rescue your asses.”, his voice lowers a few octaves but doesn’t contain any accusation. “So, that’s why you were so pissed.”, Horror’s smile returns as he recalls this memory, making Killer also grin reluctantly. 

Dust, who quietly observed their conversation, shoves his hands into his jacket pockets. “Too bad I missed that. Passed out shortly after I felt Nightmare’s presence.”, he comments.

“Nah, it was no big deal. You two did a great job as well.”, Killer says nonchalantly, but Horror snorts knowingly. “Sure. just the lapdog going nuts and kicking Ink’s butt. You should’ve seen the capeboy’s face. Like he just bit into a bitter apple.”, he adds playfully.

They start laughing, imagining Dream’s scrunched face. 

Nightmare wakes up inside a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a cliff, sitting pressed against the lithic wall without any protection from the cold. Tentacles, which are tangled around his frame, unwarp slowly and he immediately checks if anything is wrong or suspicious. But nothing seems out of the ordinary.

With a drowsy mind, he shifts to get a better look at the outside. After three days, the snowstorm finally calmed, rendering the snowy desert hushed and almost tolerable. Almost every Sans grew up in cold areas, but he hates the cold. Pale snow makes his black body stand out like a sore thumb. Not that he needs to hide, it’s just an inconvenience.

He barely remembers how he got here. After some fighting came the search for a place to rest, but he can’t specifically recall falling asleep. That was his first time falling asleep in this AU. How utterly careless of him.

After finally getting up, he notices his sore limbs. Hunger is also getting stronger every day, even with all those negative emotions around him. The lack of sleep and constant fighting are issues he’s not completely immune to, even though he likes to let others believe exactly that.

“Golly, you’re awake!”, a high-pitched voice echoes through the rock shelter. Nightmare tenses up and gets ready to fight, despite his bones aching for more rest. The weak light from outside isn’t nearly enough to fully brighten this place.

“At this rate, you won’t last a year before losing your mind.”, the voice states bluntly. Night doesn’t sense aggression or bloodlust around him for a change. Interesting. “I have no intentions to stay here for so long.”, he replies drily.

Nervous laughter fills the cave-like hideout. “Funny! Do you even know where you are, gooey skeleton?”, judging by the sound, it’s getting closer.

Nightmare hesitates to answer. He’ll make himself vulnerable if he talks too much. Truth is, he still doesn’t know what sick kind of universe this is. This place almost doesn’t feel like an AU at all. “Why would you care about my state of information?”, he asks instead, scanning his surroundings to find the other monster.

Subtle vibrations below his feet indicate that something is burying its way to the surface. Nightmare gets ready to attack, tentacles completely still and pointed towards the ground.

… It’s Flowey. Well, a version of Flowey. Except his red petals and slightly smaller appearance, this version looks exactly like the original.

“Howdy! Oh boy, you’re all the same boneheads, no matter the universe.”, Flowey comments sarcastically as he notices the appendances aiming at his fragile body. He shakes the dirt of his petals and leaves, trying to show the black skeleton that he means no harm.

Nightmare laughs bitterly and is about to leave. There’s no need to fight if the opponent has no intentions to hurt. He needs to preserve his remaining magic. But fine vines wrap around his ankle, begging him to stop.

“Wait! I’ll tell you where you are… In exchange for my safety.”, Flowey offers quickly.

Nightmare stops but doesn’t turn around. “You demand my protection?”, he asks doubtfully. That’s new. “Listen, gooey trash bag. There are a lot of dangerous skeletons out there. Monsters like me don’t survive for long. You seem to be capable of fighting without being insane. That’s extremely rare here.”

Finally, Nightmare turns around. He doesn’t sense any ill-intent and lets the petty insult uncommented. On top of that, he really needs answers. “You tell me everything you know, and I will spare your pathetic existence.”, Nightmare offers. The red flower chuckles tensely. “I’ll tell you everything I know, and you won’t attack me as long as I’m with you.”, he negotiates the deal.

Nightmare can’t help but smirk, it’s been a while since he had a ‘normal’ conversation. “So be it.”, he accepts almost too quickly for his own liking, but Flowey seems relieved. “Great! Now come back here before anybody spots us.”, he says anxiously.

Nightmare frowns, he’s the hunter not the prey, but comes back a few steps anyways. Some creatures simply fail to recognize deity when it’s standing right in front of them. “So, in what kind of Alternate Universe am I?”

The red flower seems to think about his answer for a brief moment. Since this monster’s feelings are readable like an open book for the god of negativity, lying would be his death sentence. But Nightmare doesn’t speak imprudently about his abilities.

“…Well, it’s not an AU. This place is commonly called ‘Sketchyard’… How do I put this?... Do you know about the Omega Timeline?”, the small monster asks. Nightmare nods, his expression gets serious.

“Great, that makes it a lot easier. From what I’ve heard, it works similar, but without all the happiness, hope and peace. A hell for evil monsters who died but didn’t want to let go and couldn’t be saved by CORE Frisk. Those get chosen by some cruel twist of fate to continue their existence here.”

Now, this piece of information got Nightmare’s attention. The Omega Timeline is a well-known and equally sought-after place, he knows more than one skeleton who’d give an arm and a leg for access to the OT. “I think I get the picture. But this is clearly not the Omega Timeline itself, correct?”, he asks.

Flowey laughs saddened, his leaves roll and unroll to hide his uneasiness. “If only that’d be the case! No, I’m afraid not… Welcome to your new home.”

Nightmare scoffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Like I already said, I will not stay longer than I need to. My appearance is the consequence of an unlucky incident.”

Flowey laughs, a single bark, his thin voice is suddenly harsh. “You idiot! Don’t you understand?! That’s what everybody says. ‘Impossible, I didn’t die!’ or ‘I don’t belong here! I need to go back to my brother.’”, his feature morphs into the quoted monsters’ faces as he repeats what they said.

That’s enough. One of Nightmare’s tentacles grabs the talking flower and pulls him out of the ground. The poor flower looks even more helpless with his roots exposed.

“Now it is time for you to listen, flower. I am the god of negativity, one of the most powerful monsters in the entire multiverse. Don’t you dare talk to me like that.”, the words are softly spoken, but filled with malice and his intimidating aura now full on display.

Flowey’s eyes grow wide in fear and surprise. “Y-you sure look different from most of the others I’ve s-seen so far. No hard feelings, kay? Please don’t kill me.”, Flowey begs anxiously.

Nightmare lowers his tentacle and loosens the grip, controlling his anger. Maybe, just maybe, the fresh EXP gets him more than he thinks. “We made a deal and I always stick to my words. You can follow me but stay out of my way. I will kill every monster in this so-called Sketchyard if I have to in order to find a way out.”

And there’s a way out for him, there has to be. It doesn’t matter that this place is a special dimension similar to the Omega Timeline, according to this weed of a monster. He needs to get back as fast as possible.

He puts Flowey back on the ground, but the flower uses his small vines to crawl all the way up on Night’s right shoulder. “I’ll just sit here if that’s okay. Other versions of me are just waiting for a monster like me to kill. Even underground isn’t safe.” That reminds him of the version of Grillby that emerged from the ground.

Nightmare tests if he can still move properly with these fine roots around his shoulder. He can. “If you raise your voice louder than necessary, I will cut your ridiculously big head off without any warning. Did I make myself clear?”, he states toneless.

“Yes, boss!”, Flowey replies. Night glances at the flower on his shoulder. His soul stings, something tries to claw its way back into his consciousness. But he manages to keep his feelings buried deep inside for a while longer.

“Is the whole ‘Sketchyard’ covered in snow?”, he asks to change the depressing topic only present in his head. “No, but it’s the safest area.”, his new companion answers warily. The black skeleton wants to get out of the snowy area as soon as possible.

Well, at least some progress was made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… Looks like Night got a little informant. ^^ And for those of you who already miss Cross, he’ll have his big debut in the next chapter. Hm… Speaking of which, the upcoming chapter will give you more than stomachache. :D ...Vanilla ice-cream, anyone? ^-^


	3. The Third Disgrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or are the chapters getting longer? Sorry. :D Well, here’s the third one! 
> 
> WARNING: Non-Con. I also updated the tags. It’s about time to earn the ‘explicit’ rating. ^^ I included a warning before and after this part, so you can skip that easily if you don’t want to read about this stuff. ~

A path without a destination is infinite. And cruel; because the only thing left to track is the vanishing time.

After one week of traversing through powdery snow, they finally make it past the icy area and Nightmare’s tired feet are now stepping on hard, uneven ground.

Boulders and closely spaced leafless trees are potential spots for enemies to emerge. Frequent ambushes keep reminding him about that.

The cozy safety of his castle is reduced to a distant memory. A luxury he always took for granted. Until now. Images of him scolding Horror whenever the big skeleton hoarded too much food are filling his head. Who would’ve thought that he could relate one day? What a twist of fate.

“Do you know where I can find something to eat?”, he finally asks his companion as they make their way through the harsh environment, willing memories of the molten Amalgamate away.

“Oh… You probably have to steal it from others. Hardly anything grows in this area and many plants are poisonous. The landlords are stingy with food, too.”, Flowey answers discouraged. Nightmare notices the mention of ‘landlords’, but the focus is finding food for now.

“Fair enough. Time to find the first victim.”, Nightmare states nonchalantly. He can feel the increasing grip of the roots on his shoulders as if the flower wants to physically stop him. What does this monster think he is? A horse?!

“W-wait a second. Are you sure about that? Monsters are usually prepared for an ambush. Or what if you accidentally attack really strong ones?”, Flowey stutters. Night chuckles, the best jokes are the unintentional ones.

They proceed walking in silence until the bright orb in the sky dims, darkening this obscure world. But day and night aren’t distinct enough to call the times of day differently.

Nightmare keeps his thoughts from wandering off, constantly pushing toxic thoughts out of his mind. Until the light of a small fire grabs his interest. A smirk creeps onto his face.

Approaching is simple, mostly because those two monsters are busy sitting around the fireplace and roasting a big piece of what could be anything. But as long as it’s edible, he doesn’t really mind.

He walks deliberately in their field of vision. Flowey notices that he’s not even trying to hide and signals him to halt. But it’s too late.

The insane version of Toriel and Asgore jump on their feet as soon as they notice the intruders. Their expressions change into a distorted grimace, sharp teeth look as if they can easily tear flesh from bone. Both have red eyes and demonic horns on their foreheads. But their clothes and fur look withered and dirty, reminding Nightmare more of gutter rats than worthy opponents.

After both look Night up and down, their gazes shift to Flowey and the tiny monster lets out an intimidated whimper.

“Oh my! Look at this one! What kind of monsters are they?”, the version of Toriel asks with remaining parts of food still between her teeth. “Don’t know, don’t care. Let’s kill him before our food and tea get cold, my love.”, Asgore rumbles and glares at the intruders with bloodshot eyes.

Nightmare can barely contain his amusement. They don’t have much time left to live and yet they look at him like he’s the unlucky one.

Asgore is the first to run into his doom, blind aggression oozing out from his soul. This’ll be easy.

Agile tentacles catch the huge goat-monster off-guard, wrapping around his bulky frame and lifting him off the ground. They’re taking their sweet time to slide up to his throat, giving the victim time to struggle and comprehend his fate. Asgore’s eyes widen in panic as realization hits him right before the strong appendages snap the unprotected neck like a branch.

Seeing this causes Toriel to startle and step back. But Nightmare has no intention in letting her escape.

The corners of his mouth twitch before he manages to contain a laugh. Since when has EXP started to feel good?

Realizing her only option is to fight, Toriel casts a fireball double the size of Nightmare and launches the attack with an aggressive exclamation. He easily dodges by jumping to the side, using his tentacles for additional speed.

But the goat-lady isn’t done yet. She dashes semi-gracefully at him and uses the momentum to swing her huge claw at him.

The black skeleton notices too late that her attack is directed at Flowey. Cursing silently, he teleports them a few steps away, which immediately results in an overwhelming exhaustion. That’s the cost for using shortcuts.

The next thing he notices is a tight grip around one of his appendances. A second later, the savage monster tears the last quarter of his tentacle off.

Nightmare hisses but it quickly morphs into a snicker. His own voice sounds too similar to Dust’s, indicating that he urgently needs to get a hold of himself… After this is over.

“Oh boy, please not. Don’t die!”, the monster on his shoulder begs, panic taints his ridiculously disproportioned face. There’s not much time for talking. “You have permission to check my stats.”, Night says short-spoken before his focus shifts back to their opponent.

The injured appendance, slickened with additional goop oozing from the wound, slips out of her hands. Before the bloodthirsty monster can react, the remaining tentacles come crashing down, over and over again. Smashing her arms and squashing her organs, until only a pile of dust remains.

A mocking smile crosses his face. “What a pity, I did not intend to cause so much noise.”, he whispers, more to himself.

Now, an eerie silence fills the atmosphere.

With a bit of concentration, the missing tip regrows. The healed wound still hurts, and the tip feels kinda numb, but it could be worse. He walks past the dust and sits down at the fireplace without a word. Luckily, the food and tea are still warm.

After a while, he notices trembling on his shoulder. He swallows the tasteless food and looks at Flowey, who looks frightened. “You should eat as well.”, Nightmare offers. Not out of kindness or empathy. The food is simply too much for him alone.

“W-what the hell are you?”, he’s almost too afraid to ask. Right, a LV of 99 and a basically infinite amount of HP are usually intimidating. 

“I thought I made myself clear enough. I am the god of negativity.”, Nightmare replies. “I start to believe that.”, Flowey mumbles.

“Do you think I am joking?! Unlike most other Sanses, I do not hide behind cheap laughter and fake smiles.”, Nightmare answers. But something inside of him flinches. He stops chewing for a moment. He’s a version of Sans? This pacifistic monster who adores his little brother? Huh… He almost forgot. Is he a god or was this just a joke that has gotten out of hand? He can’t remember anymore. Is that how a god is born? A strong entity is just claiming the title? 

They stare at the small fire after they finish their meal. The EXP-euphoria wears off slowly and the world around him turns grey again.

"…The Sketchyard looks a lot more beautiful if you aren't constantly afraid of being killed.", Flowey comments now a lot more optimistic. Nightmare exhales audibly. This talking weed might be able to relax but he has to be attentive every second.

"Make yourself useful and tell me more about those landlords you mentioned.", Nightmare commands before any unpleasant thought can catch up to him.

"Okay, boss. It's pretty much anarchy here, but there are some strong skeletons who survived long enough to be called landlords. Every corner of the Sketchyard has one, so there must be four or five of them.", Flowey explains.

Nightmare looks up at the starless sky. This dimension is huge and there’s so much he doesn’t understand yet. For example, the strange creature he encountered at the beginning. It seemed to be connected to his arrival here, but unfortunately never showed up again.

A sudden thought crosses his mind. Those landlords might know more about the mysterious monster or perhaps even how he can get out of here. Meeting one should be easier than killing every soul he stumbles across. Even though he’s growing fond of the euphoric feeling of fresh EXP.

“And where can I find one?”, Nightmare asks.

A vine points at the dark mountain in the distance. “The closest one is Meteor. He lives on top of this mountain, a hotheaded skeleton. But I’ve heard he loves puns and actually isn’t too bad.”

Nightmare frowns, his tentacles flicking back and forth slowly. Hotheaded? Puns?... “What about the other areas?”, he questions, earning a confused look from Flowey. “Frost is the landlord of the snowy dessert. He’s a calculated and cold-blooded killer. I’d prefer Meteor. The other two, Magma and Storm, are much further away.”

Nightmare drops a stone on the flames to extinguish the fire, stands up and starts walking towards the snowy area again. Very much to his ally’s surprise. “W-wait! Why him? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Nightmare thinks about Blue, Error and all the other energetic monsters. “History showed me that I might have difficulties with lively monsters.”

“… I don’t like that idea…”

~~  
~~

“Get away from his throne.”, Killer declares warningly while a knife is sliding out of his sleeve. Error, who’s peacefully crocheting on Nightmare’s throne, one foot draped over an arm rest, looks up. “WhY? He’S nOt hEre aNd soMebOdy neEds to kEep hiS pLace wArm.”, he argues playfully.

Killer narrows his void eye sockets and his grip around the knife tightens. How dare he sit there like he owns this place?! Magic is boiling in his bones, eager to be released. “You failed circus act will regret this as soon as he comes back.”, Killer growls.

Error rolls his eyelights, unimpressed by the danger nor the insult. “YoU mEan _iF_ hE evEr cOmes bAck. JuSt gEt tHis iN yOur thiCk sKull. BesiDes, wHat wiLl yOu dO to sTop mE?”

For a brief moment, Killer wavers. The monster in front of him is the one keeping them entertained, the one opening portals for them. Basically, the one in control right now. And the worst of all these things is, Error is very well aware of that.

Killer averts his gaze, feeling like dunked in icy water. Where the hell is Nightmare?

“HeH, diD I sTrikE a nErve?”, his smug grin widens.

Suddenly, a salve of giant knives shoots from the high ceiling, right at the glitchy skeleton. The god of destruction reacts quickly and teleports just in time.

Instead of vanishing, the weapons form a circle and hover ominously over the throne. “Watch your words, Error. Nightmare will return.”, an all too familiar voice states.

Error glares at the figure standing in the shadow of one of the four pillars decorating the impressive throne room. “Tsk… LoOk wHo hAs fiNally mAde uP hiS miNd aNd chEcks oN hiS fOrmer ‘fRieNds’. DesPite nOt bEing a pArt oF tHe grOup anYmore.”

Cross, who’s leaning against the marble column, pushes himself off and walks over to Killer, keeping his gaze fixed at Error.

Killer observes the former group-member closely but can’t make out any signs of ill-intent. Too bad, his freshly gained EXP begs to be released. “Criss-Cross, _knife_ to see you again.”, he greets the monochrome skeleton, trying to hide the manic edge in his voice.

Ever since Cross has chosen to travel the multiverse on his own, their relationship has become difficult. Now, he’s more like a hired freelancer, which makes his unrequested visit noteworthy.

“I take Nightmare’s still missing.”, the monochrome skeleton concludes. “Yeah.”, is all Killer answers. If this worries Cross, he doesn’t show it. But the soldier was always good at hiding his emotions in front of those he doesn’t trust.

When the soldier’s gaze finally meets Killer’s, he pulls his black mask higher. “Are Horror and Dust alright?”, he asks quietly, as if this question isn’t allowed. And he’s not completely wrong with that assumption.

But why for stars sake does he bother all of a sudden? “Heh, ya know how the saying goes: Bad weeds grow tall.”, he answers casually. “…I suppose.”, Cross mumbles, not trying to hide his disappointment about the vague answer.

In the next moment, Killer is standing in front of Cross, knife pressed against the other’s throat warningly. “Listen, _pal_. I don’t know what kind of connection you and boss have, but secretive monsters really piss me off. So, ya better tell me what you truly want, or I’ll _cut_ the information right outta your ribs.”

He’s so caught up in the moment, he doesn’t even notice the five floating knives aimed at his back.

Error, who observes this scene unfolding, starts snickering. Stars, this is as good as watching Undernovela.

Despite everything, Cross’ expression softens. Knowing Killer’s natural behavior, the former bodyguard guesses that their new work doesn’t do them any good. “Try to slice me in half if it helps you. Just get control, what would Nightmare think about you right now?”

Icy realization is crawling down Killer’s spine and he lowers his weapon slowly. They stare at each other, completely frozen. Until the tension vanishes as fast as it appeared.

Cross looks past Killer and directly at Error. “I’m here to let you know that I’m accompanying them next time.”, his tone leaves no room for discussion. The destructive god shrugs, “ThE helL I cAre. BuT I cAn’t giVe yOu aN eXAct tiMe, I doN’t plAn ahEad.”

“Thought as much.”, Cross replies.

“Do you think we need you as a bodyguard? Because if that’s the ca- “, Killer starts but gets interrupted by Cross, “No. I… I’m just thinking about him. If he’s trapped somewhere and can’t get out. We all know how it feels.”

Killer looks like he wants to say more but stays silent.

Error rolls his eyelights in annoyance. He always envisioned them as ruthless killing-machines. To observe them acting like they actually care about each other and the gooey abomination gets him thinking.

“WhAteVer.”, he mumbles and leaves through a portal. His beloved Antivoid is much better anyway.

~~  
~~

“Do you ever sleep?”, Flowey asks after he wakes up and notices that they’re still moving. “No need for that.”, Nightmare replies flatly.

It’s been two days since Nightmare started walking and, as a last resort, teleporting over rifts in order to get to Frost.

They’ve gotten a lot deeper into snowy territory and the snow reaches up to half his tibia. There are no more trees or any indicators of any lifeform in general. Just an endless ocean of snow, with few snow-covered rocks appearing like waves. What a forbidden place.

The air is biting cold, every breath creates as a plume of white steam. A vine slides up his skull and touches his forehead. When Nightmare shoots him a disapproving look, the flower explains: “Oh boy, you’re not getting sick, are you? I noticed your breath is creating a lot more mist than when we first walked through cold areas.”

What a sharp observation. Flowey is right, the black skeleton does feel an unpleasant heat warming his bones. But his next heat is not due for another two years. It’s probably the EXP. “No need to worry.”, he answers vaguely.

“Okay, boss…”, the small monster looks straight ahead again and gasps, “Golly! We should be able to see his ice cave any moment.”, he comments encouragingly. How does he even see anything besides snow?

Nightmare allows himself to walk slower... Could it be? Two whole years earlier than expected? Is it because of all the negativity, overflowing his magic reserves? No, it has to be the plentiful EXP.

Nonetheless, he contemplates his options for a while. His heat wouldn’t be a problem anyway. The wise skeleton is too experienced to get irritated about that kind of problem. On top of that, he needs to get back to his known multiverse as soon as possible.

When they’re standing right in front of the cave’s entrance, Nightmare is disappointed. It’s almost impossible to notice the whole if you’re not standing close by. Not very glamorous for a so-called ‘landlord’. Nothing like his castle.

“I’ll, uh, just stay here. Frost doesn’t like flowers. In fact, he doesn’t like any living beings.”, Flowey interrupts his train of thought. A quiet chuckle escapes Nightmare, judging by the area around him, Frost indeed despises life itself.

After the small monster slides off his guardian’s shoulder, the black skeleton makes his way into the cave. “Be careful! Don’t get killed.”, Flowey yells after him, his voice is pretty loud for a small flower. “How ridiculous.”, he replies without turning around. 

It’s getting warmer as he follows the tunnel. The increase in temperature makes the upcoming heat obvious and he briefly worries about this little handicap. But most likely, those needs aren’t even important in this hellhole of a dimension.

Well, he can’t deny that there are good things about this place after all.

The tunnel leads him deep underground, getting wider as he follows the straight path. His tentacles are now easily able to spread in all directions. There’s no snow on the ground anymore and the ice-walls look like crystals. It’s odd that an underground cave is bright as day.

Finally, he reaches the end, the channel opens up into a vast circular space. Bright light shines from above. But nobody is here.

He keeps walking along the crystalline wall, looking around attentively. This place is conveniently big for a fight. Right on the opposite side of the entrance, he spots different monsters, who are frozen inside the clear icy walls. He stops to take a closer look.

Most of them are skeletons, trapped like wicked decoration. They all look either surprised or in pain. He even recognizes most of them… Are they… alive?

“Up here.”, a cold voice sounds from above. Night jerks his head upwards, squinting a few times to adjust to the blinding light. A small balcony is carved into the walls, about 15ft (4,5m) off the ground. How deep underground is he?

The monster up there is barely emitting any emotion, that’s why Nightmare didn’t sense his presence right away. But with the necessary focus, he identifies the other’s curiosity as the dominating emotion at the moment.

“Greetings. My name is Nightmare. I heard you are the landlord of this impressive area.”, he tries it the polite way. His silvery voice echoes clearly through the cave, making a discussion over this distance a lot easier.

“Huh? Nightmare? The real one?”, the other seems suddenly very interested. “Of course, the real one.”, he scoffs.

The other monster jumps down and lands right in front of him immediately after he spoke. Nightmare’s eye socket widens in disbelief. A long dark-blue coat and a fluffy grey scarf. This skeleton looks like a version of Abyss Sans.

“Abyss?”, Nightmare asks, unable to contain his surprise. The other smiles acknowledging. “It’s really you. Oh, don’t tell me. Did you die?”

Nightmare immediately senses that his smile and concerned words are a lie. But he decides to play along for now.

He hesitates for a moment before speaking, making sure his words are in order. “No, I did not. I came here because of information you can certainly provide. I need a way to leave this ‘Sketchyard’ as fast as possible… Strange, how can you be here despite certainly being alive at the time I entered this dimension?”, Nightmare explains, feigning interest.

‘Abyss’ chuckles coldly. “Is there any way for any of us to prove that we are the monsters we claim to be? I could tell you about my work as a jeweler or what I like and dislike, but that doesn’t prove anything. I’m as real as it gets. But to answer your question honestly, I’m not the Abyss you once met. Just call me Frost.”, he clarifies.

Nightmare’s tentacles twitch once, he’s mentally preparing for a difficult fight. “Is that so? Then, how do you know anything about me?”

“This isn’t the land of the living multiverse, Night. We’re well informed about all the other universes beside our former homes.”, he explains while waving dismissively with his hand.

A loud noise disturbs their conversation, causing Nightmare to turn his head. Thick plates of ice are blocking the only way out. Nightmare looks back at his opponent. “Sorry, it has gotten incredibly rare that a skeleton mustered the guts to come in here.”, Frost sounds cold and calculated.

“I can see why.”, Night looks meaningful at the frozen skeletons.

Frost snickers. “You’ll make the perfect trophy.”, he states while attacking with frozen bone-shards.

Killer, Horror, Dust, Cross and Error are standing in front of an open portal, ready for the mission.

Unlike Nightmare, the god of destruction doesn’t provide the group with a lot of information. Their only focus is to kill all living creatures. Only when the AU is mostly depleted of sentient beings, Error erases the AU.

“Why do we have to do this again?”, Killer turns to get a better look at Error.

The glitchy skeleton dislikes Killer the most. This insolent glitch keeps asking stupid questions as if he has any right to ask in the first place. “In cAse yOu woRthleSs gliTches didN’t knOw, iT’s exhAustiNg tO erAse cOde. ThE leSser cOde eXists, tHe eAsier mY actUal wOrk bEcoMes.”, Error explains.

Killer looks at the other team members, knowing this will be their last sober moment for the next few days. Slaughtering so many monsters and humans means a lot of EXP. Which leads to a heavy EXP-intoxication.

It’s not harmful nor does it feel bad per se. They all passed this stage at least a couple of times. Despite all that, a sense of calamity lingers in the air. The awareness of losing their minds for a while is unpleasant for all of them. Even Dust doesn’t like the idea without Night’s steadying presence.

“What do you think he is doing right now?”, Killer asks with tension in his grin. They all know who he means.

“Depends on where he is.”, Dust answers evasively, trying to keep his mind of Nightmare’s whereabouts.

Horror pads Killer’s shoulder a bit too vehemently. “Doesn’t matter where he is, I bet he’s spreading negativity. Because that’s what he always does.”

“YoU sHould bE mOre coNcernEd abOut yoUr oWn heaLth. I woN’t rEscue yOu stUpid abOminAtions. So, bEtter wAtch oUt.”, Error interrupts them.

Cross takes a deep breath. His only mission is to look after them. That’s what he promised Night the day he left the group, that’s why he’s here. Despite everything he has already done for the god of negativity, he’s still beholden to him.

_[“Fine, I let you leave. Under one condition… If anything happens to me, try to take care of them. With your ability to open portals, take them where they want to stay” … “Nonsense, I will outlive all of you. I just like to have backup plans.”]_

“You ready, Cross?”, Killer grabs his attention. The monochrome skeleton looks at the tense monster in front of him, his expression tends to get darker when he’s thinking. “Always.”, he answers.

**~ Start of Non-Con ~**

This might not be the Abyss Nightmare knows, but he’s still an insanely smart opponent.

Shielding his body from incoming tiny sharp missiles, he loses sight of Frost. The ground beneath his feet opens up, twisting his ankle in the process. And if that wasn’t enough, the beam of a blaster hits his chest, making him fall onto his back.

Nightmare is laying on the ground, trying to catch his breath as fast as possible. He can’t stay on one spot for too long, Frost would just freeze him immediately.

Thanks to his damned heat, his magic doesn’t obey him as precisely as he wants. On top of that, he is generally slightly unfocused. Nonetheless, it’s a minor untimeliness that won’t alter the outcome of this fight.

Frost doesn’t intend to let the other get up again and lands right on top of Nightmare’s ribcage, wondering why the god uses magic attacks so sparingly. The intelligent skeleton observes Night closely. His eyelight shines bright and sharp, not showing any signs of haziness whatsoever. What could be wrong?

They stare at each other for a while, both still breathless from the intense fight.

Then, Frosts face lights up. Of course, he feels the heat despite all the goop protecting his body.

“No way!”, he shouts playfully. “Can we just ignore that and continue our-?”, Night stops and clenches his teeth as the other shifts his weight to sit right above the hot and sensitive pelvic region.

“What’s with that look? You came all the way here, despite your heat-circle, and really expect me to ignore that?”, Frost smirks, a dangerous glint in his eyelights gives away what’s about to happen.

That’s certainly not the Abyss Nightmare knows. Abyss is kind and would leave this handicap unmentioned. This version became insane here without losing his intelligence. Either way, he needs to stay concentrated. “That is really no big deal for a deity like me.”, he says as his tentacles attempt to get him off his body but are already frozen on the ground. This is bad, he waited for too long.

Frost snickers as he watches the tentacles struggle to get free. “I assume, with these appendances, you are the guilty pleasure of every human and monster who likes that kind of stuff. Too bad I can’t let you use them.”, Frost says shamelessly.

What a nuisance. “Get away from me at once!”, Night hisses.

The other leans slightly forward. “No can do.”, his singsong voice doesn’t match the sadistic pleasure he emits. When Nightmare doesn’t react impressed, Frost starts grinding attentively against the other’s pelvic bone. Fortunately, the goop eases the friction.

“I’m not stupid, you know. A fair fight against you would be suicide. No, I have a better solution. I don’t need to dust you in order to win. Just ask the skeletons over there.”, he tilts his head in the direction of the frozen monsters.

Without responding, the trapped skeleton clenches his right fist and drives it full force into the other’s shoulder. Frost barely manages to catch the hand; a hairline crack spreads on the shoulder. 

“Heh, I like my victims feisty.”, his voice becomes deeper, almost seductive, while he grabs the other hand as well and pins both over Night’s head, freezing them into place. The coldness stings in every limb but is bearable due to the unwelcome warmth pulsing through his body.

“You know, I used to respect my opponents. But where did that take me?” when Nightmare still doesn’t answer, he continues, “Exactly. Nowhere. So… Let me make your death the most pleasurable experience in your life.”

Despite the danger, cyan color spreads across his cheekbones. No, he doesn’t want this. Calming his racing mind, he concentrates to summon bone attacks. Not an attack he uses very often, but a reliable weapon in times like these.

Before the bones could reach their goal, an ice-wall shields the attack. But that doesn’t discourage him, the wall will crack eventually. The god’s amount of magic is far greater than Frost’s.

“Shhh, calm down. We’re just getting started, don’t waste your magic.”, the cold skeleton purrs and gets comfortable between Nightmares legs, who pulls his knees inward to deny him access to his sensitive areas as good as possible.

Unfazed by the unwilling gesture, Frost forces the other’s pants off, slowly, like opening a present. Patience is Night’s soul-trait, but it’s fully exhausted. The other skeleton can’t be serious. Abusing him? A god?!

His attacks don’t stop, and cracks appear on the walls of ice around them. “You’re quite eager. Seems like I have to quicken my paste as well.”, Nightmare hears right before he jolts as cold fingers stroke his hip bone. He tries to ignore the feeling and concentrates on his ongoing attacks.

Skilled fingers apply more pressure, sliding back and forth with the use of the black liquid on his body, discovering every inch of his pelvic girdle. “Hands off me, you irredeema- ahh~”, Night’s bones burn with the need to give in to the pleasure. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, but it’s not quite working.

After a few more seconds, his concentration finally breaks as Frost’s other hand starts stroking the inside of his lower ribs. Summoning bones becomes an impossible task, they dissolve too quickly.

“Good boy.”, Frost praises when the banging against the protective walls fades. The slight dilation of his victim’s pupil when he looks at him is so rewarding.

Nightmare bites back a moan and uses all of his willpower to not let the magic around his pelvis form anything. “Your stubbornness is impressive.”, Frost admits, his bright eyelights fixated on him.

He can barely hold back from arching into the contact. Pain from the coldness and pleasure blend together just perfectly. “You... ngh~… bastard.”, the weak vocal protest gets annihilated by a soft moan escaping from his parted teeth as a rush of warmth spread across his pelvis.

Damn, he loses control. “There we go.”, Frost’s velvet voice echoes through his skull. He doesn’t need to look down to see that his magic is about to fully form.

Frost gently dips his fingers into the pooling magic, causing Nightmare to moan loudly at the intensified pleasure.

“It’s okay. I feel that you want this.”, the skeleton between his legs purrs, twisting his fingers just right. Night wants so desperately to scream ‘No’, but his body answers for him by arching into the touch without his consent.

No matter how hard he tries, his body won’t relax or lie still. And the harder he struggles to get free, the tenser he gets. There’s no escape.

Oh stars, please not. _Not again._

Frost stops for a moment, smiling at up at him knowingly, then continues to push two phalanges even deeper inside the other’s parted folds. “I’ll try my best to freeze you with this exact expression on your face.”

Nightmare hears the words, but his mind is too far gone to process the meaning of it. He’s so close, the feeling too overwhelming to care anymore.

“You’re so adorable, making all these sweet noises and looking so humiliated. I bet your little group would love to see you like that.”

His soul skips a beat. A thought, so loud, that he can't concentrate on his other senses. His group. He intended to experience this moment with them.

Rage curls in his soul, even hotter than his momentary desire. Like a blazing inferno that wants to burn him from the inside out, to consume him and everything around him. His eyelight flares up in a vivid cyan.

Frost hears ice snapping but before he can comprehend what happens, four tentacles break through the wall of ice like a hot knife through butter. All four wrap themselves around the skeleton and smash him against every available wall, only stopping when the cave threatens to collapse.

Nightmare stands up and faintly feels something hot and nasty sliding down his trembling femurs. “I will end your pathetic existence.”, despite the livid emotions, his voice sounds flat.

**~ End of Non-Con ~**

After the tentacles retreat, the beaten skeleton lifts his skull to look at the god, scared to lose his life. “No! Hold on, please!”, he pleads and when Nightmare doesn’t react, he continues, “You came here for answers. I’ll tell you about a monster you might want to visit.”

“Continue.”, he answers tonelessly.

“…There’s a valley somewhere between Meteor’s and Storm’s area. Go there and you’re bound to find a skeleton named Combat. He’s one of the oldest inhabitants, you’ll get answers from him. You can’t kill me, the monsters in my area would lose their landlord and therefore most of the food.”, the beaten skeleton mumbles with dimming eyelights.

Nightmare stabs Frost’s soul and watches him turning to dust. “Idiot. You lost your life because of your inappropriate behavior. What a shame, I had no patience for making your death as painful as possible.”, he whispers and steps away.

It takes a while to break through the shield of ice which is still blocking the exit. His body feels hot. His soul feels cold. In his mind rules chaos. But he needs to keep going. One step after the other.

He silently walks past all those humiliating mirror images caused by the crystal walls. Nothing is left from his usual confident posture.

Suddenly, not far away from the exit, he stops.

Nightmare leans against the icy wall, slides down on the frozen ground and pulls his knees to his chest as close as possible. His tentacles wrap themselves around his body to prevent other monsters from seeing him like this.

The cold feels good against his hot bones. He sighs defeated. For the first time in his life, he experiences the longing feeling for something that is known, predictable and stable. His castle, his home. His group. He feels homesick.

Will he ever be able to go back? Stars, they don’t even know that he’s alive. Are they still searching for him? Are they glad he left? Are they angry? If he only could send them a sign, confirming he’s very much alive.

Tears are gathering in his eye socket and soon start rolling down his cheek silently. He buries his fingers deep into his stained pants while sorrow is shaking his bones.

After a while, exhaustion takes over and he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh… And we’re not even halfway through the story… 
> 
> On a happier note: I probably don’t need to tell you about Abysstale, right? But since I included Abyss, I'll do it anyway. The original creator is MetaKazKZ and his Undertale comics are really epic. You should read them if you haven’t already. :D Or watch the comic dubs on YouTube. ^-^ Either way, I thought Abyss (or at least the crazed version of him) is the only skeleton who’s worthy enough to… well… do this to Night. ~


	4. The Fourth Flaw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out more wholesome than the last... I think. =3   
> Let’s see how the group’s mission goes and how Nightmare is doing after the unpleasant experience. ~

Despite everything Cross has been through, killing doesn’t come naturally nor does it feel rewarding. He can’t understand how dusting a much weaker monster could be any fun. But it’s not his job to judge. There are better judges out there.

Without the slightest of sounds, he paces through the ruins, making sure Dust hasn’t forgotten a monster in his killing-spree. The air reeks of LV, fear, and death. A smell he’s all too familiar with. All pitfalls are conveniently visible, mostly because of panicked monsters who tried to hide inside the plentiful traps.

Turns out, Dust indeed overlooked a few, whom Cross needs to take care of. But after the seventh or so, the soldier stands metaphorically on razor's edge, balancing between killing just enough monsters to ease their doubt and staying sane enough to fulfill his promise.

After finishing his round, he takes a shortcut to Waterfall, where Killer and Horror are supposed to wreak havoc.

Finding them should be child’s play, he just needs to follow the laughter and screams. Or so he thought. The roar of water hitting against rocks creates a wall of sound, which blocks out the noises of the world and makes his plans unnecessarily difficult. For now, there’s no other choice for Cross than to walk along the slippery path and use his sight. He shivers as cold mist from the nearby waterfall sprays on his skull and he pulls the mask deeper in his face.

Even after passing the unpleasantly wet section, the monochrome skeleton still can’t hear them. Luck isn’t on his side today. Maybe he’s taking the promise he gave Nightmare too seriously.

When he comes across an echo flower, he stops to touch the glowing petals… _“Hold still, there’s something on your neck.”, a high-pitched squeal followed by the hearty sound of an axe cutting through flesh invades his auditory meatus, “Oh, my bad, it was just your ugly head.”_

The grip around his still summoned swordlike knife tightens. Beyond all doubt, they passed through this area. Cross resumes walking, picking up the pace ever so slightly. Waters in Waterfall are usually sparkling like gemstones. But the current beside him is dull, tainted with dust floating atop its surface like a polluted blood vessel.

Not unlike LV and EXP contaminated their souls and magic. It can settle down like sediment, but the stream will never shine as vibrant as before. 

The flashing of a metallic object pulls him back to reality and he dodges the upcoming attack only thanks to his reflexes. The blade barely misses him and gets stuck in the wall behind him.

“Heh, too bad. Are ya out of practice or why are you just wandering around, afflicted with pusillanimity?”, Killer asks playfully. “Don’t be mean, Kills. Killing monsters is _crossing_ his boundaries.”, Horror adds, and they start snickering.

At least he found them. It’s horrible to watch the other’s slowly getting overwhelmed by EXP, even more so because they weren’t so fond of it either. Cross’ focus shifts from Killer to the dust-covered axe in Horror’s hand. He shouldn’t show any signs of discomfort. Cross wipes the dust off his giant knife with his fingers attentively. “What do you mean? I already cleared the ruins.”, the lie comes easily. Dust surely won’t remember, so this untruth will remain unnoticed.

Luckily, they just have to cleanse the Underground.

“Really? Heh, we’re so proud of ya. Horror and I are almost done here as well. Monsters in Hotland were a little _fiery_ this time.”, Killer’s attention shifts as he spots another Woshua hiding in shallow water. His sharp grin widens. They let him approach the defenseless monster, when suddenly an arrow shoots between the helpless monster and Killer, causing him to stop immediately.

“I finally found you! Where is my brother?!”, Dream’s disembodied voice startles Cross. Not due to the danger-level, but because of the obvious distress. This becomes even more apparent, when he finally appears in front of them. The guardian of positivity has never looked so ridden with worry.

Killer, on the other hand, is barely able to contain himself from attacking. “You’re the last thing we need right now. It’s all your fucking fault!”

Dream takes a step forward and clenches his fists. “So, it’s my fault that you attacked the ninth AU in one month?! We had to intervene!”, Dream snaps back. “Only two more than usual, goddamn it!”, Horror joins their dispute.

Killer teleports right in front of the positive guardian. “Do you even have the slightest idea what exactly you ruined?!”, Killer practically screams at him, shaking with anger and urge to attack.

Dream doesn’t back away, even leans slightly forward without breaking eye contact. “Insane buffoons, how could I possibly know?!”, his posture suddenly slumps, as if all strength left his body, and he looks to the ground, “My brother hates me, he’d never tell me anything.”

His gloomy words don’t have any effect on Killer. He slashes across the god’s chest with a knife he probably hid somewhere. The attack is too fast to see it coming. Dream stumbles a few steps back, both in surprise and in pain. The inflicted wound has a striking resemblance with the one, the human causes in a genocide route.

“Damn right. Don’t care if our boss wants to kill you with his own hands, I’ll just do it right here and now.”, his voice gets quieter with every word, but the volume merely gets replaced by a manic tone which lets Cross’ and Dream’s marrow run cold. A fresh droplet of liquid hate runs along his cheekbone.

Cross curses silently. Instead of accusing one another, they should talk and figure out together what happened to Nightmare. “Dream. You won’t get any information out of them in their current states of mind.”, maybe the god of positivity hears him out. They might disavow it, but this is a chance to find out about Nightmare’s current situation.

“Are you kidding us?”, Horror growls warningly, but Dream turns his head in Cross’ direction as he dodges sharp blades, indicating that he’s listening.

“… It’s not the right time nor place to discuss Nightmare’s whereabouts. Give me four days, I’ll persuade them to meet you in Outertale. Squabbling will get us nowhere, perhaps we can figure something out together. If that’s of interest to you.”, Cross explains, trying to convey the importance of their cooperation.

Dream looks warily at Killer. “I don’t-“, he starts but gets rudely interrupted by a glitched voice. “I wOndEred whAt tAkes yOu sO loNg.”, Error is stepping through a portal, glowing strings already warningly woven between his fingers.

“Leave.”, Cross shoots Dream a serious look. The outnumbered skeleton nods reluctantly and leaves this AU through a white portal.

The silence that follows is comparable to a death sentence.

Then, Error sighs annoyed and steps away from the portal. “My pAtiEnce iS spEnt fOr todAy. NoW, leAve tHis AU. Or I’Ll jUst erAse yOu, frEaky aCcidEnts, wiTh iT.”, he states.

Cross’ eye sockets grow wide. He can’t be serious, can he?! They certainly won’t leave without Dust. Stars, it’s definitely not his lucky day.

“What are you waiting for, Criss-Cross? Let’s pick the other idiot up and leave. I’m tired.”, Killer’s unconcerned voice has an uncannily calming effect on the soldier. “He’s right. Hurry up, I’m starving.”, Horror adds before he kills the Woshua from earlier with one single strike. The feeling of dread cools down enough for Cross to hum an agreement.

He and Killer take a shortcut to Snowdin separately and Cross appears in front of Grillby’s. Dust should either be here or somewhere in the forest. Well, the bar is reduced to ashes, probably collateral damage from the fight against the barkeeper. The monochrome skeleton looks left and right. No signs of life, he’s on his own. Killer undoubtedly started his search somewhere in the forest then. Hopefully, it wasn’t a bad idea to leave Horror alone with Error.

Cross starts racing through the town, keeping his breathing steady despite the rising exhaustion. His shoes pound heavily across the ground, only the snow cushions the impact. “Dust?!”, he shouts but gets no answer. When he reaches the ‘Welcome to Snowdin’-sign, he stops. No, searching hysterically would take too long.

If he was him, where would he go? Why does Error even need to make this needlessly dramatic? As a punishment for taking too long? Stars, it wasn’t even their fault. Enlightenment follows almost instantly. How could he forget to look inside the skeleton house?!

He shortcuts in front of the home and opens the door expectantly. Before he can start moving towards the stairs, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor grabs his attention. He finds not only Dust but also Killer inside the skeleton brothers’ kitchen, one sitting on the table and the other standing in front of the fridge. But both have a bottle of ketchup in their hands.

The dead stare of Cross meets the amused gazes of Killer and Dust. “What? Can’t destroy a universe without testing if this AU’s ketchup tastes decent.”, the dust-covered monster explains with a glint of crazed amusement in his expression. Killer has nothing to add, he just shrugs unconcerned.

The monochrome skeleton furrows his brow-bones, unable to wrap his head around the ridiculous scene in front of him. But Dust’s grin suddenly drops as he catches a glimpse of the outside world. “What happened to the trees? They’re gone.”, he states irritated, causing Killer to choke on the red condiment.

“There’s no time for a break yet! We need to return to the portal, now.”, Cross orders and lays one hand on Dust’s shoulder before taking the last shortcut for today.

Luckily, the portal is still open, but the environment is dissolving slowly. Horror, who immediately notices their return, seems to be unharmed and is mindful enough to have waited for their return.

A second later, Killer appears at Horror’s side and wordlessly passes him the half-full bottle of ketchup.

Cross sighs relieved when they step through the portal mostly unharmed. What has he gotten himself into? Hopefully, Nightmare appreciates his efforts, no matter where he is right now.

_This frequent nightmare, every time he closes his eyes._ _Memories of a cursed past and a wavering future drape slowly over him..._

 _On the night of the last day, the world lays shattered in ruins._ _Darkness descended on Dreamtale..._

 _That day, he summoned a nightmare._ _A darkness, which meant to swallow._ _Painful emotions, broken bonds, silent screams, invincible weaknesses, his soul..._

 _Was there no other choice?_ _Back then, it was salvation, this deep abyss he threw himself into..._

 _A name lingered on his lips. A hand that was just out of reach._ _He should open his eyes and see the truth. Or succumb to despair._

 _The meaning of this sad charade._ _A shattered world inside the memory of the forgotten one...  
_

Consciousness seeps slowly through Nightmare’s dream as the morphed memories from ancient times pale before his inner eyes. His toes curl and fingers twitch. He slowly opens his eyes but stays curled up against the icy wall for a while longer, protected from the world around him by his tentacles.

Even before he moves, his bones ache from the uncomfortable position. A mixture of regret and disappointment sweeps through his system. Thoughts from his last battle invade his mind like an angry swarm of bees. Every snippet of a memory and every image stings.

The god is just breathing through the pain and waits patiently until he’s finally able to push those thoughts in the background. When his mind goes bleak enough to function, he unwraps himself slowly and spots Flowey right in front of him.

The flower turns around and relief blossoms in the monster’s soul as their gazes meet. “Golly! You’re awake, boss. I was watching out for enemies while you were asleep!”, Flowey reports faithfully. A bit too positive for Night’s liking.

He almost reminds his companion of their current location and the uselessness of his action. But he doesn’t. There’s something about the way this monster looks at him, which makes him reconsider… Could this emotion be… admiration? Nightmare has never really met a version of Flowey, but he knows the small flower isn’t known for being nice or affectionate.

No, he can’t falter now. Not with somebody looking at him like that. “… Well done.”, he says in a distant voice and reaches his hand out for Flowey to climb on. The latter does that immediately and claims his place on the shoulder again.

He needs to keep going. The breakdown can wait.

“What now?”, Flowey asks. Nightmare stands up and starts moving towards the exit of this forsaken cave, business as usual. “First, we shall leave this miserable area as fast as possible. Then, we need to find a monster named Combat. This monster apparently knows a lot about this hellhole.”, he says.

“Haven’t heard of him before.”, Flowey mumbles. They have nothing else to say and Night focuses on wandering through the deep snow.

As they traverse through this soulless area, the bright orb in the sky slowly changes its intensity from a white into a more pinkish tone, imitating the beginning of a sunset badly. A smile tugs at the corner of Nightmare’s mouth as the white snow is transforming into rose cotton candy.

“Moments like this fill me with determination. This place isn’t just hell. Hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go.”, Flowey’s voice sounds much more confident than the monster actually feels.

Nightmare glances at Flowey. It’s probably not wrong to keep the conversation going, here isn’t much to watch out for after all. “That very well may be. Tell me, how did somebody like you land up here?”, he asks instead. A kind monster like him shouldn’t be here.

His leaves lower and a sad smile crosses his face. “Oh, I’m not a nice monster. As far as I’m informed, I was like every other version of me, aside from having a soul. The power to RESET gave me unthinkable opportunities, my actions had no consequences. I tortured pretty much every monster in my universe just because I could. But my universe changed and…”, he stops there and sighs heavily.

“… How ironic. Every monster goes insane here, even I feel the constant nagging in my soul. Everyone, but you.”, Nightmare says thoughtfully. That small detail makes the monster on his shoulder suspicious. “Well… I learned my lesson, that’s all. Real life isn't a videogame and I’m no longer able to play by my own rules. There’s no RESET button, there has never been one. At least not a real one.”, Flowey admits.

“I have no experience with this RESET farce everyone keeps complaining about.”, Nightmare comments nonchalantly. Flowey’s head turns towards him and he hesitates before asking his next question. “How was your life like before you got the chance to visit other universes?”

Nightmare frowns. That’s none of his business and he’ll definitely won’t chat about his past life before he became the monster that he’s now. On normal days, he would even barely remember. But today? “I was born in Dreamtale and served as a guardian, together with my brother. But unlike him, I was loathed merely for the fact that I existed, and I suffered for the pleasure of the inhabitants of this universe.”

“Oh. That sounds horrible. What-“, before Flowey can complete his question, Nightmare cuts him off: “Enough. My past is long forgotten and I intend to let it stay this way.”

“Funny. No matter how much we try to seal off our memories, they always shine clearly in our souls.”, Flowey says, unknowing that he just poured more salt in the freshly opened wound. A tentacle pulls Flowey away from him, tearing a few roots and vines off in the process.

“I-I’m so sorry. Please don’t kill me!”, the small flower begs immediately, Nightmare doesn’t even need to say anything.

The god of negativity smirks as he watches the monster begging for mercy. Apparently, the lack of a spine is not only literally but also metaphorically true. This was almost too easy for his own liking. No matter how harsh he punished Killer, Dust or Horror, they never begged like this. They just endured their punishment, watching idly as their HP dwindled down. The mere thought about it sends shivers down his spine. So submissive, but at the same time so full of themselves.

Will he ever see them again?

Nightmare's own reflection in Flowey’s black, watery eyes gets his attention and his amusement vanishes instantly. He feels his soul flinching while his body freezes, even his tentacles stop moving entirely. Stars, he looks disgusting. Out of control and not at all the calculated god he used to be.

Nevermind seeing his group again. The better question is would they even recognize him right now?

“B-boss?”, Flowey pulls him back to reality. Night releases a sudden sigh, tries opening his mouth to speak. But no words come out. Instead, he shakes his head and puts the trembling flower back on his shoulder. "Golly! Thank the stars, you're still sensible.", the scared monster exclaims as Nightmare's eyelight dims back to its normal brightness.

He will see them again. And they will recognize him.

Dust struggles out from under the fluffy blanket covers. A little disoriented at first, his first instinct is to summon a couple of sharpened bone attacks right above the fortress of pillows, amongst which he finds himself tucked in.

There’s a low snarl right beside him. His eyelights dart in the direction the noise is coming from, ready to stab whatever danger is facing him.

But tension leaves his body as quickly as it came. Heh, it’s kinda hard to see him buried under pillows and heavy blankets. Horror’s low snoring combined with Dust’s tense nerves transformed the harmless sound into something life-threatening.

He chuckles amused and turns his skull to the right. Killer is only partially covered, revealing tempting bones and fresh cuts all over his bones. They lie there, sound asleep and partially undressed. The threat everyone fears, the infamous murder time trio. More like a bedtime trio. He tries hard to muffle his snickering. “Can’t wait to tell them that one.”

The atmosphere could be best described as post-apocalyptic, but in a good way. Dust sits up and checks himself for injuries. But aside from a few bite marks, he seems to be fine.

The comfortable bed they’re lying in is right in the middle of Nightmare’s bedroom. It’s ridiculously big and with an ungodly number of pillows. He takes a deep breath. The air is filled with spent magic, but underneath the heady smell is still his boss’ scent. A unique combination of sweet apples and soothing lavender.

Heh, he can’t wait to get punished for sneaking in Night’s bed. Perhaps they’ll get away with it, considering their current circumstances… Nah, certainly not.

The walls and furniture are blacker than the blackest segment of obsidian ore. At times, he spots purple or dark blue items, but nothing that presents any value. And of course, there’s a large bookshelf filled with ancient looking books. Nightmare’s room isn’t very personalized, no pictures or whatsoever. That’s unfortunate.

Dust can barely remember what happened after they started the little genocide. It’s hazy and convoluted like a ball of wool.

Before he could even think about waking the others up, he notices faint eyelights darting at him. Judging by the colors, it’s Cross. What the hell is he doing here, staring at them like a creep?!

They both look at each other without saying a word.

The more than suggestive way the half-dressed skeletons are intertwined with one another leaves no room for interpretation. Nonetheless, Dust manages to keep a serious look on his face. Cross surely knows why they were sleeping here of all places.

“You need to get up and visit Outertale with me. Somebody wants to talk to the three of you.”, Cross breaks the silence. “And who might this mysterious ‘somebody’ be?”, Dust muses, his voice not sleepy but instead relaxed and unusually calm.

The soldier leans back against the wooden door and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Nightmare’s brother.”, Cross reveals. 

Horror sits up as soon as he hears that. Since he’s not wearing a shirt, his huge ribcage is on full display. “Capeboy? Why?”, his voice sounds gravely and even deeper than usual, maybe even overused.

The soldier feels the heat crawling up his cheeks and he tries to stay focused on the skeletons’ faces. “He wants to talk about Nightmare’s disappearance. I figured that we might find out more about his current state and location, if we share our knowledge.”

Dust sinks back into the soft pillows again and snickers cynically. “Yeah, sure. As if we’d get any valuable information from him. Think about it. Last time I saw him, he wanted to capture me and exorcise the LV out of me or some shit.” That remark draws quiet laughter from everyone.

“We did a very good job with that the last few days, don’t you think?”, Horror purrs and Dust hums in agreement.

But Cross has one last trump card up his sleeve. “So, you want to ignore a chance to find out more about what happened to him?”

Screeching silence spreads across the room. When they all stare in different directions, Cross knows that he has already won.

Killer is the first one to swing his feet over the edge of the bed. “Fine. Get up, lazybones.”, he orders. “Shower first.”, Dust comments. “And food. I’m starving.”, Horror adds.

They simultaneously vanish, leaving Cross alone in the room who keeps staring at the bed. That worked better than he anticipated. He takes a deep breath, it’s harder for his mind to be concerned when his body is relaxed. He leaves the private room through the door and waits for them in the throne room. Error isn't here, but the glitchy skeleton doesn't sojourn longer than he needs to. Not after their last conflict.

It’ll better be worth the trouble.

After a few minutes, Killer is the first one to show up. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. What if he’ll try to deceive us? He can hop between AUs, perhaps he already found him. What if he’s been captured or…”, he ends the unfinished sentence with a grumble of discontentment.

“You need to silence those thoughts. Stop counting the days without him.”, Cross says that like he doesn’t count every single day as well. Ignorance is killing him. “As if that would make it easier.”, Killer comments and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets. “No, but it gets bearable.”, the open sadness in the soldier’s answer catches them both off-guard.

As soon as the missing skeletons finally show up, Cross opens a rift for them to get to Outertale. He can't get to a lot of AUs, but his ability allows him to revisit universes he's been before.

The space-themed AU is breathtakingly as always. The oil black midnight sky is everywhere they look. Microscopic stars of different sizes and colors are twinkling elegantly. This universe is so vast and soothing. But also dangerous in areas with low gravity.

All they could hear were their footsteps cracking on the tough rocks. This part of Outertale seems to be unpopulated, which is probably for the best. When they turn around a corner, Dream is standing a few steps ahead of them.

His arms are crossed, and he seems to be nervous. But his expression changes as he notices them approaching. “There you are! I thought you wouldn’t come.”, he greets them equally surprised and delighted. Dream seems to be alone. Wise decision.

“Neither did we.”, Dust mumbles. “We wouldn’t _dream_ of meeting you if it wasn’t important.”, Horror adds.

When Dream looks at Cross, the monochrome skeleton shrugs. He never promised they would be happy about it. “Well. I’m glad you came. Do you want to sit down?”, Dream offers and points at the nearby ledge. “Nah, we prefer to stand.”, Killer states dead.

“Oh. Alright. So… About Nightmare. Should I start talking or…”, Dream says warily. The positive skeleton has no need to be afraid, but he’s still under the impression that they’re unpredictably aggressive and the last thing he wants is to start a fight.

Much to Dream’s surprise, Horror starts talking, “I witnessed him vanishing. He got enveloped in an extremely bright light. He didn’t leave any trace. No dust either.”

Dream’s face lights up. “That’s good to hear! I couldn’t find any dust or goop on my cape. The part he held onto also stayed intact and didn’t get torn away with him.”

That sounds supernatural. “We read through a lot of different books about hidden locations of the Multiverse. There are no places he couldn’t escape from. Except he’s held captive.”, Killer states.

Dream gets the hint immediately. How rude. He’d never do this to his dear brother, least of all not informing his comrades about it. “He isn’t. I don’t sense him anywhere. That’s what gets me worried. But on the other hand, I… Call me immature all you want, but… I’m convinced that I would’ve felt when my brother died.”, Dream’s voice sounds carefully optimistic.

“Yeah, right. Because you and Nightmare are so close to each other... But you can confirm that he didn’t just land in a universe at the brink of dying?”, Dust asks, unsure what to make of Dream's self-assured statement. Could he feel all the times his bro died, aside from the EXP he gained from killing him? He can't tell.

“Yes. But I don’t really know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”, Dream sighs, even a soul as positive as his can be affected by a mind engulfed with negative thoughts.

Killer exhales audibly, feeling sick for a brief moment. “Let’s start thinking. When we use ordinary shortcuts, we use the Void to get from one place to another.”, when they all agree, Killer’s gaze pierces Dream expectedly. “What do you do when you open portals?”, he asks, taking the scientific approach. Dream frowns in concentration. “I never thought about it before. It feels very similar to shortcutting. But instead of throwing myself into the place I want to go, I constantly pour magic into what feels like a connection to create a portal.”

“Do you imply that Nightmare is stuck in some sort of oversized Void?”, Cross asks, shivers creeping through his body at the mere thought of being trapped again. They all stare at Killer, who kicks a stone to ease some of his tension.

“It’s a possibility. And the only logical explanation we have, or am I wrong?”

The orb dimmed and lit up exactly 17 times since Nightmare defeated Frost. For him, it felt like an eternity. They left the snowy area a long time ago, and even made it all the way through uneven rocky and some woody sections. Currently, the two monsters are wandering between Meteor's and Strom’s area.

He never had to fight so many battles in quick succession, usually letting his group do most of the dirty work. But they aren’t here. Nightmare’s tentacles twitch, it’s not the time to get mawkish. There’ll never be a time to get sentimental, especially not so close to their, hopefully, final destination.

When they reach a slope, the skeleton stops.

“Frost described the place astonishing accurately.”, he comments as they’re looking down at the area in front of them. There’s a small village inside a valley, which looks like it just stepped from the pages of a spooky fairy-tale.

The village itself is widely surrounded by knee-high thistles and running right past it is a dreamy silver stream. Roughly twenty small houses and one bigger one hide inside this unfriendly location. Sky-punching mountains soar up in the background. But at least the climate is decently mild. The lack of walls around the village either means the inhabitants are stupid or don’t need to hide.

“So, what’s the plan, boss?”, Flowey asks confidently. Spending time with the god did wonders to the small flower, largely being responsible for the steady decline of his anxiety.

But he isn’t the only one who profits from his companion. Constant stress is enough to disturb the most stubborn of minds. All the meaningless stories about RESETs, where Flowey has been before and where they shouldn’t go, brings Night back to reality at times when all he wants is losing himself in constant battles. His present, his future, the very essence of him.

He never knew how powerful he could become, surrounded by all this negativity. But losing his sanity in the process is nothing Nightmare tolerates. No matter how tempting it may appear from time to time. He’ll leave this place with his soul and mind intact, that’s his only focus.

They stand there and observe for the next five minutes, only to realize there are no signs of inhabitants. In fact, the tiny village seems to be abandoned.

“Boss?”, Flowey nudges the gooey skeleton, who in response glares at the monster for poking his cheekbone without permission. “The strategy remains the same as always. We go in and get what we want.”, he finally answers the question.

Whoever is living down there, there’s no such thing as a threat to Nightmare.

The skeleton tries his best to avoid the thorny plants, but taking a shortcut is not an option. The pain is nothing compared to the exhaustion teleporting causes.

The layout of the village is fairly simple. Small windowless houses which all look the same to him. There’re just three clean pathways who meet in the middle, all leading to a semicircular building. It’s bigger than the surrounding houses but the clay-like material is the same. The atmosphere is desolate and grim, exactly like the rest of this world. However, the tiny town really is deserted. There’s a chance some maniac monster killed the residents, but the way Frost spoke about Combat, he wouldn’t go down so easily.

Time to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate cliffhangers. I really do. :D


End file.
